


Play it off

by rhettmclovely



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alcohol, Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe - Diners, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Masturbation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:48:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23247259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhettmclovely/pseuds/rhettmclovely
Summary: Rhett hadn't really thought about it, but when he did, this new guy showed up.
Relationships: Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Rhett McLaughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> who wants this? who asked for it? no one, but i've been locked inside for a whole week, so i'm doing this now.

Rhett parks the old jeep, right outside of the diner. He runs in, giving Eddie an apologetic look, as he rushes to help him get everything set up for them to open.

As soon as they do, a couple of guys from the construction site barge in half-heartedly busting his balls about how long they’ve been waiting for him and their coffee. Rhett nods and apologizes, before he gets to it.

Before he knows it, most of the regulars are there. The place is busy and he can’t hear anything over the chatter, and the clinking sound of dishes and mugs. His head hurts from last night’s drinks and he’s wondering why people in this stupid town love talking so much and so loud, this early in the morning.

He doesn’t notice her, when she walks in. He doesn’t even notice when she is leaning on the counter waiting for him, until she gently pokes him with the bottom of her umbrella, making him jump.

“Where’s my coffee?” she asks, with a wink. “You know you’re supposed to have it ready for me when I get here.”

“Maybe you should start coming in earlier. That way you wouldn’t be in such a hurry.” he replies, winking right back at her.

“Are you serious? You were late!”

“Yeah, _today_! Plus, Eddie was already here… Just give me a second, I’ll get it for you.”

“Alright!” She says, settling in one of the chairs, before adding “Eddie doesn’t make it the same way… No offense, Eddie!”

“None taken!” Eddie replies, poking his head out of the kitchen door. “I’m more of a chef than a barista, really!”

“C’mon, Rhett! You know I can’t leave the kids waiting…”

“I swear to God, I have no idea how they let you in a room with 20 kids….”

“ _25_ , and I’ll have you know that I’m _great_ at my job. The kids love me!”

“Oh yeah, I don’t doubt that. I just wonder if you get any actual work done… It’s like the blind leading the blind” he says, handing her the coffee.

“Well, let’s just say some days are more productive than others.” She replies, leaving the money on the counter and rushing out, cup of coffee in hand.

She’s really something, he can’t help thinking, smiling to himself.

“When you gonna ask the girl out, boss?” Eddie asks, head peeking out of the kitchen again.

“We’re just friends.” Rhett replies, rolling his eyes.

“He has a point, you know?” He hears one of the old ladies who always comes in for Eddie’s blueberry pancakes say.

“Oh has he now, Maureen?” Rhett asks, shaking his head with a smile.

“Yes, sugar. You’d be great together. She’s sweet, and funny, and smart. She’s a tough little cookie and she’s gosh darn cute too! You can’t pretend you don’t see it. And you’re…. listen, honey, you’re one hell of a man. If I were twenty years younger, you can bet your perky little butt I wouldn’t be trying to set you up with anyone but myself.”

“Will you settle down, Maureen? C’mon! Keep it in your pants!” Eddie says, as he walks out of the kitchen, a plate of blueberry pancakes in hand.

“No need to get jealous, Edward. There’s plenty of Maureen to go around!” she says, raising her eyebrows suggestively, as the guys laugh. “I am serious, though, Rhett! I was telling her the same thing the other day!”

Rhett can feel his cheeks warming up.

“What?! Maureen!”

“There’s something here, I can feel it and my intuition never fails me. She can laugh it off all she wants and you can pretend you’re just friends but I see it. Heck, everyone sees it!”

Rhett changes the subject but he can’t stop thinking about it. Mary is cute, he’ll give them that. Beautiful, actually. And smart. And funny. And a bunch of other great things too.

They’re just friends. Nothing has ever happened between them. Nothing has ever felt like it was going to happen between them, but he can’t say he hasn’t thought about it. It’s never concrete or in the form of a plan or even really a wish. He just wonders what it would be like to be with someone who he actually seems to get along with. He’d be lying if he said he hasn’t thought about how much sense it would make for him to ask her out. Not that he feels like getting into another relationship, any time soon. It’s been a year and it still feels like he hasn’t gotten out of his last one… and Eddie would tell him that’s exactly _why_ he should ask her out.

The next morning, she comes in, right after he has opened. They do that thing they always do, with the joking around and the constant teasing, that Eddie insists is irrefutable evidence that she is interested in him, but Rhett doesn’t ask her out. Nor does he do it the day after, or the one after that.

A couple of weeks go by. One morning, she runs into the diner late, as she always does. She gets her coffee and runs out, before turning back. around and darting back in.

“Hey, Rhett?”

“Yeah?” He says, as he cleans the counter

“Do I…Do I need to make a reservation for dinner?” Mary asks.

“Does this look like the Olive Garden?” He asks her, quirking an eyebrow, before smiling and adding, “No, you just gotta show up!”

“Oh, okay. I’m bringing someone though.”

“Alright.”

“It’s… it’s kind of a date.”

“Oh… Oh, that’s nice…”

“Well, it’s not ‘kind of’. It _is_ a date, he asked me out and I said yes and then I panicked and I suggested coming here.” She says, turning bright red.

“Hey, I appreciate the publicity. I just don’t know how romantic this is…” Rhett says, with a smile, returning to the coffees waiting for him.

“It’ll be fine. He’s a chill guy. Laid back. He’s not…. you know… Well, I should get going. Thank you! I’ll see you later.” She says, before taking off for good this time.

The whole day feels off. He’s irritable and clumsy and he feels like everything is going wrong. It’s not about Mary and her date. It’s not that. He’s not jealous or anything stupid like that. It’s just that this whole thing came out of nowhere and now they’re gonna come here and this whole place is a mess… Maybe he should just call her and tell her to go somewhere else. Somewhere better. So she doesn’t ruin the date before it even starts. Eddie tells him to take it easy. She knows what the place looks like, she doesn’t want anything different. She just wants to go somewhere she feels comfortable. And he needs to fucking relax.

Rhett knows he’s right, so he tries his best to calm down and it sort of works, even if he’s still dropping more plates and spilling more coffee than usual.

Mary arrives around 7pm, alone. She tells him she came early to check if everything was alright and save a table. There’s barely anyone there and there are plenty of free seats. She sits at a table right across from the door, but she can’t stop fidgeting. She changes tables. She goes outside and walks back in. She sits down and gets back up again. 

“I just couldn’t wait at home anymore. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” She tells him, pacing around the diner. 

Rhett throws the rag he’s cleaning the counter with over his shoulder and turns to her.

“It’s gonna be okay. He’d be an idiot to ruin this for himself.” He says, pouring her a cup of tea.

“It’s not him I’m worried about.” She replies, taking the cup and settling back at the first table.

Rhett loses track of time between the few people who come in and dealing with Eddie, who decided today was a good time to clear out the kitchen cabinets full of stuff he never uses. When he looks at his watch, he realizes it’s been an hour and Mary’s guy is nowhere to be found. He’s not sure if she’s about to be stood up or if she just came in that much early, but he feels like it’s not his place to ask. He heads to her table for a refill and she’s glad he’s not asking questions.

Another half an hour goes by, before a tall skinny guy is running through the door, red as a tomato and sweaty.

“I’m so sorry. My phone died and it took me like 40 minutes to get here without the GPS. Have you been here long?”

“No, I just got here.” Rhett overhears her say, and can’t help but smile.

She calls Eddie to order, while Rhett is going through the million pans Eddie wants to throw out. When Rhett walks out from behind the counter to take them their food, he can see Mary sit up a little straighter.

“Here you go!” Rhett says, as he places the food in front of the couple.

“This is Rhett.” Mary says, placing a hand on his forearm, gently but firmly enough that it feels like a request for him to stay. “We’ve been friends ever since he moved here and opened this place. He’s the owner.”

“Nice to meet you.” The guy says, with an acknowledging nod. Rhett can’t help but size him up. He’s tall, he saw that when he walked in, but he’s too skinny. He has blue eyes and messy black hair and stubble that is starting to go grey. Rhett wants to pick something to complain about, but she does know how to pick them.

“This is Charles” Mary introduces him.

“Link.” He corrects her. “I’ve told her she can call me Link but she still hasn’t gotten the hang of it.”

“’Link’?” Rhett asks, cracking up. “How did you get that out of Charles?”

“It’s a middle name thing. My dad is the only Charles in the family as far as I’m concerned.” He answers, smiling.

“Ah! In any case, I hope everything is good and if you need me let me know.” He says, tapping Mary’s shoulder, before walking back to the kitchen, where Eddie is waiting for him.

“So, what do you think of the guy?” He asks, as soon as Rhett walks through the door.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know him.”

“What about that order, huh?” Eddie whispers, snorting.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh c’mon, you didn’t notice?”

“Didn’t notice what?”

“The dude ordered a peanut butter sandwich… for dinner…on a date. Listen, I like peanut butter as much as the next guy, but I mean…” Eddie says, before he loses it and starts laughing.

“He can eat whatever he wants. He’s just another client. You need to stop acting like this. They’re sitting right outside this door.” Rhett scolds him. “Now, let’s see if we get through this mess, before closing.”

They get lost in the pans and pots and before they realize it’s way after closing time. Rhett gets up from the floor, where he’s been sitting, ever since he admitted the pans were winning, one leg still half asleep to see Mary and Link still where he left them, talking. He’s leaning towards her and she’s laughing, head thrown back.

“Sorry, folks. It’s closing time.”

Link looks at his watch before mouthing a “yikes” at Mary. She apologizes and soon enough they leave, Link’s arm wrapped around her waist.

Rhett tells Eddie to head home, when he offers to stay and help do the dishes that are still out on the tables. Rhett might have his flaws, but he doesn’t want Eddie to do any more than he already does. So he stays, finishing up alone. It’s not that much work anyways. And, besides, it’s not like he’s thrilled to go back home, after last night’s adventures. The place is still a mess. He’ll probably still be able to smell the cologne everywhere and he’s not exactly excited to be reminded of that particular mistake.


	2. Chapter 2

Things change over the course of the following weeks. It starts almost imperceptibly. But now, when Mary walks in for her coffee, Maureen doesn’t immediately look at him, raising her eyebrows and Eddie doesn’t pretend to be busy with something in the kitchen, so that Rhett has to be the one to serve her. Everything feels different except for the two of them. She’ll still lean on the counter and wink at him and he’ll still tease her about whatever silly thing she might say or do that day.

One morning, as he’s pouring her a cup of coffee, she looks him dead in the eyes.

“Hey, I need you to be honest with me."

Rhett looks at her, his face mirroring the serious expression on hers.

“What did you think of Charles?”

He looks up at her, for a second, in surprise, before returning his gaze to the cup.

“Huh?”

“Charles. What did you think of him?”, she repeats, nervously playing with the hem of her blouse.

“I don’t know.” Rhett says, turning around to return the coffee pot to its place. “He seems fine. I only saw him that one time. I don’t really know him, so I can’t say anything, really.”

She sighs.

“Yeah, I know. But what was your first impression?”

“I don’t know. Seemed nice.” He answers, shrugging.

“Is that the best you can do?” she asks, jokingly rolling her eyes, but Rhett can hear a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Forget it. He _is_ nice. Things are going great, by the way. He’s a great guy.”

“Yeah, I believe you.” Rhett says, leaning down on the counter, so he isn’t towering over her.

“Do you? Because you have this look on your face like you don’t.”

“Hey, I mean it. I believe you.” He says.

He knows he should leave it there but before he catches himself the words are coming out of his mouth.

“He’s just not the type of guy I thought you’d want to be with. You know, the suit and the ‘Sorry, I got held up at work’ talk. That’s all.”

_Shit_ , he sees the way she’s looking back at him and he regrets it. He regrets it before he’s even done saying it. 

“But hey, if you’re happy, I’m happy.” He adds, to smooth things over. But it comes out colder than he meant for it to be.

Of course it does, because he’s being an _asshole_.

“I don’t know who you thought my type was, but yeah, he’s exactly the type of guy I want to be with.”

It isn’t that she isn’t angry. Or, at least, royally annoyed. But that isn’t really what he’s focusing on. She probably didn’t mean anything by it, but Rhett feels the most transparent he’s ever felt, like she can see right through him, like she can read his mind, like she has been reading his mind for months, like she knows every joke Eddie has said, every intruding comment Maureen’s made.

“He’s moving in with me.” She says pausing for a second, before adding “He’s got a job 10 minutes from here, it makes no sense for him to be driving 40 minutes every single day when I live practically outside his office. I know you probably think we’re moving too fast, but I don’t wanna wait anymore. It feels right.”

She’s looking up at him like she expects a very specific reply from him, but he doesn’t know what that is.

“Hey, like I said, as long as you’re happy…” He says, with a smile, his hand landing softly on her wrist, hoping that will help him seem reassuring.

She smiles back, getting up and grabbing her coffee.

“I hope you do make a little bit of an effort to get to know him. I think you guys could really get along!”

*****

Mary and Charles do move in together. At first, it’s weird having him around. No one really knows how to treat this new guy and the poor man doesn’t really seem to know how to treat anyone in town either. Yet, slowly, like it always happens, like it had happened to Rhett himself, all that time ago, he seems to just become one of them.

Despite what Mary had told him, Rhett never really made any real effort to get to know him. At least, no more than any of the other people in town had. He just has them all beat because of how much time Mary and, thus, the new guy spend at the diner.

They never really talk just the two of them. Not even when Mary casually announces that she needs to “run home” to pick up something she conveniently forgot. Rhett doesn’t have any particular desire to try to get to know Link (though he does find it reasonable to honor the man’s wishes when it comes to the name he wants to be called, which is more than can be said for anyone else). Nevertheless, he has to admit it: the guy turned out better than Rhett expected. He _is_ nice and he’s pretty funny too. Rhett just can’t decide if he’s funnier when he means to be or when he doesn’t.

It never goes beyond small talk, but Rhett feels like he can confidently say that Link is a good guy. He doesn’t know exactly when he stopped being annoyed by the relationship or when he stopped feeling what he now recognizes as jealousy, but he’s glad he has. It would have been a shame to ruin a friendship over something as stupid as this.

Truth is Rhett doesn’t really have much time to be upset about Mary and Link. Not since Maureen, finally, and not without effort, realized she probably shouldn’t try to set Mary and Rhett up anymore, now that the girl was in a relationship (it had been a rough couple of weeks for Eddie, who gave himself the task of getting her to “JUST STOP IT!”).

Maureen resorted, instead, to making a list of every available girl in town and, having concluded that there were no viable options, decided Rhett should really try to get back with Amy.

They had been together for a while, when Rhett first moved into town, and he had really liked her. It had taken him a long time to get over their break-up. 

“What do you have to lose? And if it doesn’t work out, so help me God, I will have sex with you myself.” Maureen told him, one morning, a little too loud for Rhett’s or anyone else’s comfort.

He had let himself be tricked into calling Amy and, as expected, it hadn’t turned out great. They slept together a couple of times, even though neither of them had any real intention of rekindling their relationship. Neither of them were the person the other one had known back then. They had grown too much to pretend there was anything there, besides the fact that they were still physically attracted to each other.

When he finally brought himself to tell Maureen that yes, he had called her and it hadn’t exactly worked out, Maureen sighed, shrugged her shoulders and whispered a “What am I going to do with you?”, before letting him know that the offer to have sex with him still stood.

She told him she really didn’t know what else to do. She had gone over every woman in town and she couldn’t accept that she couldn’t find him anyone. Rhett almost told her she could start doing the list of the guys next, but bit his tongue in the end.

It wasn’t that he was embarrassed. He really wasn’t. He had known who he was for a very long time. He never really hid the fact that he was into men probably just as much as he was into women, but he didn’t necessarily publicize it either. His longest and most recent relationship, if you could even call it that, had been with a guy. He never lied about it or pretended it was anything other than what it was, but no one ever really asked and he didn’t feel like talking about it, much like he never felt like talking about his relationships with women.

It had been a weird time in his life. Chris was working for a small company in town, while he waited to sign a contract he already knew was a sure thing, in LA. They both knew it was coming, but when he told Rhett that he had sealed the deal, Rhett felt like his world was imploding. Suddenly, Rhett had to think about leaving his life behind and he wasn’t sure it was worth it. They discussed doing the whole long distance thing for a while, but Chris had always made it very clear it wouldn’t work for him like that. Either Rhett would come out to LA with him or they’d have to end it.

Rhett was in love. It was kind of gross how in love he was back then. So, although everything in his being told him it was wrong, he packed his bags, left Eddie in charge of the diner indefinitely and went. The first couple of months were great, but the novelty wore off pretty quickly and Rhett could no longer bear to be a useless boyfriend, with no job, other than attend work events with his partner, displaying just enough affection to make it clear for everyone that they were gay, but not so much affection that they would be deemed “that kind of gay”.

He wanted to do something. Maybe open a business. But it was not easy; everything was ridiculously expensive and there was no unexplored niche that he could come up with that didn’t already exist in LA. Eventually, he decided he had to leave. He was open to trying to make it work, but he knew that wasn’t really an option, so it was pretty much over then and there.

Occasionally, his ex would travel for work and when he was even remotely close to town, they would end up hooking up, even though it felt wrong and left them both feeling worse than before.

Rhett’s finishing up the dishes at the diner, when he hears the door open.

“We’re closed.” He yells out, from the kitchen.

“Yeah, man. I’m sorry. Have you seen Mary?” Link asks, his voice heavy with worry.

Rhett puts the dish back in the sink, throws the dishtowel over his shoulder and walks out to meet him.

“No, man. What happened?”

“I don’t know… we just got into a stupid argument and she just left. You know how she is…”

Rhett nods.

“She didn’t come here.” He tells Link.

“Jesus Christ. I’ve checked everywhere, I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

Rhett throws an arm over Link’s shoulders as he walks him out.

“She probably just needed to clear her head. I get that you’re worried but you should just let her be… She’ll be back soon enough. In the meantime, if I see her, I’ll let you know.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, man.” He says, even though he still doesn’t look like he’s processing anything Rhett’s saying.

“No problem.”

The whole thing doesn’t sound weird at all to Rhett. Link isn’t the first guy to ever come looking for her at the diner, after some argument. He finishes up and heads back home.

When he gets there, he’s surprised to see Mary sitting, on his porch.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, as he gets out of the jeep.

“I needed to talk and I just came straight here. It was late, I figured the diner would be closed and I thought you wouldn’t mind if I…”

“I don’t.” Rhett says, sitting down on the porch steps. “He’s worried about you, you know?”

She nods, looking away.

“You want to come in? Everything is a mess but…”

“No, it’s fine out here. And I really don’t wanna intrude, okay? I’m not gonna bother you too long anyway… I just…” She says, her hands coming up to twist a small section of her hair.

“Hey, however long you need, okay?” He says, patting her knee. “I’m gonna get you some tea, alright?”

She nods, as he walks into the house. As he fixes her tea, he texts Link that she is okay. When he returns, she’s pacing about the porch.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s going on?” He asks, handing her the cup.

“It’s stupid… I just… I got this job. A job where I actually get to write. I get to do something I love and get paid for it. And maybe it’s not steady and safe and maybe it’s not the _right_ decision, but I want to do it. And he doesn’t get that.”

“I’m sure he understands that you want to, though.”

“Yeah, sure. But he’s so caught up in the fact we’d have to move, I don’t…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, we’d have to move…” She says, instinctively stopping, to look at him. “But this opportunity, Rhett, this is what I’ve been looking for, for so long. It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction. And all he thinks about is his money and his job and I don’t know what to do here. Tell me I’m not completely in the wrong here. Please.”

“I get it. I know how much this means to you.” He pauses for a second, making sure his tone isn’t any harsher than it needs to be. “But is _he_ completely in the wrong? You both have steady jobs here. You have a house. Is he supposed to quit and go with you? Is he supposed to stay and wait for you? How solid is this opportunity? Mary, I get it. I genuinely do. You know, I’m a big fan of making rash decisions and if it doesn’t work out, I just get back up and move on, but not everyone thinks like that. All you can do is ask him, and wait for his answer. Give him time to process, discuss your options, but ultimately he has to have his say. He will make his decision and so will you.”

“So what?” She asks, with tears in her eyes. “I’m supposed to just stay, because he’s not willing to take a chance?”

“I don’t know. You’re supposed to do what you feel is right. You’re supposed to think about it, weigh your options. You hear him out and you make a decision, even if you’re not sure you’re choosing right, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hope that doesn’t mean I’ll have to flirt with you every morning now, though." 
> 
> honey, you've got a big storm coming.

Rhett hears the door open, as he’s putting on his jacket to leave.

“Hey.” Link greets him. He looks exhausted. His face is pale, dark circles under his eyes. “I know it’s late. I just wanted to drop these off.”

Rhett takes the keys Link’s offering him, with a confused look on his face.

“They’re hers. Her place. She told me I could stay, but I couldn’t, you know? I just needed a few days to go back there and get everything. I just figured you’d be the best person to keep them. I don’t know what she told you. She didn’t really get into specifics with me. But, regardless of what her plan is, I think it would just be easier if you could do me this solid and hold on to them, for now.”

“Yeah, man. I will.” Rhett says, nodding.

Rhett hesitates. He exhales as if to muster up the courage to open that can of worms, before he asks Link:

“Are you good, man?”

Link shrugs.

“Yeah. Just… this whole thing fucking blind sighted me.”

Rhett nods.

“I know this probably doesn’t mean anything coming from me, but she really does care about you.”

“Yeah…It really doesn’t help.” Link says, chuckling. “No, I care about her too… I’m just not sure what to do here. We weren’t even together for that long, but I don’t know how… I don’t know what I’m doing here. This place was always hers, you know? I was just here _with_ her. It was never mine. These people, and, I mean, y’all are great, but I just don’t feel like I belong here. I haven’t had a conversation with anyone here that isn’t about the weather or the news or her, and I just… I don’t know, man.”

Rhett nods. He knows what Link’s talking about. He has felt it, when he first moved into town. This feeling of just being surrounded by people who were welcoming and nice and kind enough, but still feeling like he didn’t belong, like he had nothing in common with anyone. The fear of being lonely, even if he wasn’t going to be alone.

“You’ll figure it out.” He says.

Rhett isn’t great at comforting people, but he knows he needs to do better than that, so he clears his throat, forcing himself to get the words out, “And hey, this joint? This joint is yours too. Even if you do clean the table with a napkin, after I’ve already cleaned it, and even if you fish around every dish, to pick out all the stuff you don’t eat.”

Link grimaces. “Y’all caught all that?”

“Oh yeah, buddy, you’re on thin ice with Eddie!” Rhett replies, laughing, before adding, “Point is if you don’t feel it anywhere else, you can be sure you’re more than welcome here, this place is a little bit yours from now on, too. Like a swap, one leaves the team, the other joins!”

“Thanks, man. Hope that doesn’t mean I’ll have to flirt with you every morning now, though.” Link says, and Rhett can swear he can see a hint of a smile.

“I mean, I need my daily flirting quota met. I’m sure Maureen will be happy to carry most of the weight, though.” Rhett says, patting Link on the shoulder, as they both leave the diner.

The ride home is quick, quicker as Rhett’s autopilot kicks in and he gets lost in his thoughts. He knew Mary wouldn’t come and say goodbye. It was another thing they agreed on. Goodbyes were an unnecessary mess. He’s hoping she’ll find everything she’s looking for. He did not envy Link, right now. It sucks to be in his position. It sucks to be in either position, frankly, but at least she gets a new city to explore, new people to meet and a job she’s passionate about. For Link, everything is the same, except she’s gone.

Rhett’s phone buzzes.

“So? What do you say?” Rhett reads on the screen.

“Yeah” He texts back. 

He hates it. He hates himself, really. He hates that he can’t stop himself. That he can’t say no, when that’s what he should do.

He rubs his temple, when he pours them both a drink and hands Chris his. It’s been a long time, since they were together. Properly together, not just… And he _fucking knows_. He knows it’s a coward move to keep doing this. It’s a great excuse to keep in his back pocket, when anyone manages to squirm their way through all the walls he’s put up. “I’m still fucking my ex” usually pushes them away just fine.

And yeah, it’s not just that. Chris is familiar. He’s smart and he keeps up with him in any conversation. He’s always just got Rhett. And it’s so easy to just revel in that. Knowing that someone understands you.

Somewhere along the way, the empty glasses were placed on the coffee table, their shirts discarded on the floor, Rhett’s mind going blank, focusing only on undoing the belt on Chris’s jeans.

When he comes, collapsing on Chris’s body, their lips meet one last time, breathless before he’s rolling off the bed, to pour them another drink. There wasn’t much basking in the afterglow these days.

Rhett climbs back into bed, as Chris tells him about this book he’s reading and for a second it’s like no time had passed.

He wakes up with the loud noise of someone banging at his front door. He sits up, with a startle.

“Eager booty call?” Chris asks, head peeking out of the bathroom. He’s already fully dressed, perfectly presentable, safe for his hair, which he seems to be trying to fix. “I’ll go get it.”

Rhett darts off the bed, grabbing a pair of sweatpants he finds lying on the floor, as he chases after him.

He meant it, he wasn’t embarrassed about being into men. But it was the middle of the fucking night, he wasn’t about to have someone come knocking on his door, in an emergency, to be met with a man, and especially not Chris.

“Wait, I’ll get it!”

Chris stops in the hallway, giving him a knowing look.

“Should I go hide in the closet?”

Rhett glares at him, feeling his cheeks turn red.

He unlocks the door to find Link standing there.

“Link?”

“I’m sorry. It’s late. I know!” Link says, his words slurred.

“Are you okay?” Rhett asks.

Link cackles.

“Nope!”

“Link, what are you doing here?”

“Fuck… I’m sorry… I just need to know what she told you.”

“Huh?”

“Before she made the big decision. What did she tell you?”

“Link, you’re wasted. We should do this another time.”

“No. _Please_ , I need to know.”

“Link, she didn’t tell me anything that she didn’t tell you. She wasn’t really talking to me, she was just processing everything out loud…”

“Okay, but like what did…”

“Rhett? Is everything okay?”

Rhett feels himself turn bright red, as soon as he hears Chris, gaze lowering immediately to the ground.

Rhett can feel Link staring at Chris, mouth open, for what feels like hours.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company. I’m gonna…. I’m sorry.” Link says, awkwardly waving at Chris, before getting back in his car and taking off, like he’s seen the Devil himself.

Rhett feels mortified. Of all people to find out, it had to be the new guy.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He yells at Chris.

“Oh, you actually wanted me to hide.” Chris says, with an incredulous laugh. “Years, Rhett. You have been here for years. I have been meeting you here for years, and you’re trying to tell me that no one knows? That you haven’t told anyone?”

“You need to go. You need to get the fuck out!”

“Oh, my fucking pleasure!”

*****

It’s around 10 a.m. when Link shows up at the dinner. Rhett sighs exasperated. Eddie and him had already gotten into an argument, Chris had just sent him some preachy text about how it was unacceptable for him to be back in the closet, so he really isn’t in the mood.

“Hey!” Link manages to say, even though he looks afraid to even look him in the eye.

Rhett nods, before retrieving the coffee pot to serve someone else.

“Rhett…” Link almost whispers.

“Yeah?” Rhett asks, pouring him a cup of coffee and avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

“I’m sorry about… I was out of line. Showing up at your place, that late…And interrupting you and your, huh…” Link’s so uncomfortable that Rhett can barely take it.

“It’s fine.” Rhett interrupts him for Link’s sake as much as his.

“No, it wasn’t, man.” Link insists.

“Yeah, no, it really wasn’t, buddy.” Rhett says, seeing the look on Link’s face,his laughter finally easing the uncomfortable tension.

Link laughs too.

“Let me make it up to you. Maybe get you a beer or something… I know I made an ass out of myself, but I could still really use a talk to you about this whole Mary situation.” Link says, pulling a face and crossing his fingers.

“Sure, man. Tonight?” Rhett asks him. A part of him could really use the distraction, but mostly he just wants to get this over with, tell Link whatever he wants to know and try to figure out where Link stands on the whole Chris incident.

“Yeah, man. Should we meet up here?”

“Sure!”

When Link leaves, Rhett makes his way back to the kitchen, where he finds Eddie putting away the clean dishes.

“I’m sorry.” He tells Eddie.

“Excuse me?” Eddie asks, turning around to face Rhett, with a dramatic gasp.

“Ok, no need to be an ass about it, Edward.”

Eddie laughs.

Eddie was the only person Rhett trusted enough to confide in. It was not often that he did it, but he knew he was there for him. Like a smoke detector. Never really necessary, comforting to know it’s there. 

With the diner empty, Rhett forces himself to tell Eddie about last night’s incident. Eddie definitely gets a kick out of it, laughing as Rhett’s story got worse and worse. But he listened, when Rhett finally admitted he was worried about what people might think about him, if they found out about Chris. He had seen how uncomfortable Link had gotten in that situation, and Link was a young, educated guy, so if that was any indication of how other people would react, he was screwed.

“He wasn’t that uncomfortable, if he wants to have a heart to heart with you.” Eddie said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s a pity beer.”

“Shut up, you’re so stupid.” Eddie teased, before adding “Just be honest with him, about whatever you feel you want to tell him. It’s not like you owe him anything. And for the love of God, stop sleeping with that jackass. C’mon, Maureen is available!”

When Rhett finishes closing up the diner, Link is waiting for him outside. He greets him with a wave and for a second, Rhett can’t help but remember the way Link had waved at Chris when he walked up to his front door. He shakes off the thought as they make their way to the little bar across the street. That’s definitely a perk of small towns, everything seems to be in walking distance.

Link gets them a couple of beers and they settle in a booth, at the end of the room. There’s a bit of chitchat, but it doesn’t take long for Link to bring it up.

“I really need to say sorry about last night.”

“Link, it’s fine. We don’t have to do this…”

“Yeah, alright. But I just want you to know that I am aware that was not okay. I was drunk and I was alone, in this stupid house I just rented and I started thinking about her and I just…fuck, I just need to try and make some sense out of this mess.”

“Yeah, I get that. But I don’t know what to tell you, she didn’t really say much. She just said that she had gotten this opportunity and y’all weren’t really seeing eye to eye on what to do. She was sad. She cares about you, so I think it was a hard decision for her to make.”

“Yeah.”

They drink a few more beers, as Link rants about the challenges of small town living and Rhett is forced to agree on most points. Link’s speech is almost as slurred as last night’s and Rhett’s rocking the classic McLaughlin pink cheeks, the only telltale sign that he’s drunk, regardless of how much alcohol he drinks. They’re laughing over some joke Rhett’s made, before Link abruptly throws the question at him:

“Were you two ever a thing?”

“Huh?” Rhett asks.

“Mary. Did you guy ever…? I don’t know, she’s hot, you’re hot, you guys had that whole flirting thing going on…”

“Oh. No, we are just friends.” Rhett says, playing with his bottle. “She _is_ beautiful, and I guess the thought did cross my mind. But no. Nothing ever happened.”

“Mm.” Link nods. “What about that guy? What’s up with that?”

Rhett choked on his beer. He tried to recover as smoothly as possible.

“What?”

“Last night.” Link replies. “You don’t have to tell me, of course, but…”

“No, it’s fine. He’s, huh, he’s an ex.”

“Oh.”

“Around these parts, for work. Dropped by.”

“Mm. So, you’re…, like, gay?”

“Sometimes, yeah, I guess” Rhett replies, with an awkward chuckle, his eyes fixed on Link, trying to get a read on him.

“Mhm, that’s cool.”

“I’m bi. That’s, like, how I identify, I guess… I mean, I don’t really feel the need to identify as anything, I’m just attracted to whoever I’m attracted to, you know?”

“Oh? That’s cool.”

“Plenty of hot people out there, why should I limit my options?” Rhett jokes, shrugging his shoulders, trying to lighten the mood.

“Can’t argue with that! Cheers!” Link said, clinking Rhett’s bottle.

It could have been worse, Rhett finds himself thinking. Link doesn’t seem to mind. The conversation had been awkward for a couple of minutes, but soon enough they were drinking another beer and moving on to talking about football, then going back to Mary and eventually getting into a very heated argument with an older couple over the meaning of the word “barbecue”. As it turned out, they both had very strong feelings about that.

Rhett doesn’t really remember moving to the bar, but he chuckles when Link almost falls off the bar stool, as he orders them some more whiskey. Rhett doesn’t remember switching to whiskey either.

Link’s plastered.

“Should we get some ‘complementary’ peanuts?” Link asks, air quotes and all.

“’M good.”

“C’mon, man! We deserve some peanuts!” He insists, patting Rhett’s arm, before he almost falls off the stool again, turning around to find the bartender.

“Careful now, buddy.” Rhett says, hand wrapping around Link’s forearm to steady him.

Link giggles, his expression suddenly becoming serious and focused.

“I see the damn peanuts right there! Should I just…? I’m gonna do it!” He says, sticking his tongue out, before he’s bending over the edge of the bar to pick up the bowl of peanuts.

Rhett’s drunk too. It’s a little less obvious, but he is drunk. So, for a second, he lets his eyes linger on the small of Link’s back, just a strip of exposed skin, where his t-shirt rode up, when he bended forward. _Tiny_. Rhett reckons his hand could right about cover the span of his waist.

“Hey, you checking me out, man?” Link says, turning to face him, as his hands still fish for the bowl. “Someone has to, I guess.”

“What?” Rhett asked, feeling the heat rise up to his cheeks, even more.

“I’m just messing with you!” Link says, finally sitting back down, without the peanuts. “You should have seen your face!”

Rhett chuckles, trying to cover the gay panic.

“Yeah. We should head back. I got an early morning tomorrow.” He says, getting up and helping Link to his feet.

_Shit_. Rhett had never noticed it, probably because Link was always around Mary and he looked tall next to her. But, _shit_. He was so small this close to him. Fuck, he’s drunk.

Rhett shakes his head, steadying himself. He’ll have to walk him home. He figures it’s close enough.

It would have been a 10-minute walk, 5, if they were sober, but Link kept giving him wrong directions. Somewhere along the way, Link had linked arms with him, which proved itself a little problematic, when Link started dry heaving on the sidewalk and Rhett started questioning his good Samaritan act.

When they finally get there, and after Link struggles with the lock for about a minute, he turns around looking at Rhett dead in the eye.

“Goodnight, Rhett. Thank you for tonight.”

Rhett looks back at him, standing on his porch and nods.

“Sure, buddy. Goodnight!”

Rhett lets himself fall on the sofa, the moment he walks through the door. His belt’s digging into his belly, so he undoes it. Before he realizes, he has unbuttoned his jeans and his hand has dipped into his boxer briefs. 

He wraps his hand around his dick, and he feels himself getting hard.

He strokes himself slowly, but it doesn’t take him long to pick up the pace.

_Shit_.

He shouldn’t.

For several reasons.

He is drunk, though.

_Shit._

All he can think about is how easily he could just manhandle Link. His hand could definitely cover the span of Link’s waist, he’s sure of it, now. His fucking eyes. So fucking blue. And the teasing. Man, Rhett can almost picture it, it doesn’t take much imagining, he can bet he’d be so fucking _eager_.

_Fuck._

When Rhett comes, he cleans himself up with his t-shirt, before he passes out on the couch.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl scouts hosted a potluck every year. Rhett's manning the grill. Again. He does have help this year though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone's staying safe!

The girl scouts hosted a potluck every year. The first year after Rhett had moved into town, he volunteered to make burgers. Everyone had loved them. When they asked him to do it the following year, he, of course, said yes.

He never had the heart to say no, even though the truth was he hated it. The sun was already too hot this time of year, to be standing outside, next to a grill for hours. The grill was always too small, so it took him ages to get the burgers done and every time he tried to get someone to keep an eye on them, even for only a couple of minutes, people would basically vanish before his very eyes, with some excuse about not wanting to ruin the food. He could swear this whole thing had put him off burgers all together.

But, of course he still did it. it was for a good cause, after all.

The days leading up to the potluck were always busy. Every place people met in seemed to become the headquarters of some potluck operation, with people making to-do lists, and occasionally arguing over who was qualified to make the potato salad.

“Don’t be stupid, just let me help you!” Eddie yelled over the noise of sizzling bacon.

“No. You’re already making your own stuff! And it’s not like I can’t handle it!” Rhett replied, as he placed a couple plates on the sink.

“You’re just gonna complain the whole time.” Eddie said, matter-of-factly.

“I’m just gonna complain the whole time!” Rhett echoed, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Alright! I’ll, at least, make sure you’re never without a beer!”

“I won’t say no to that!” Rhett replies, as he exits the kitchen with a plate of eggs.

He places the plate in front of Link.

“There you go.”

“I could help you!” Link says.

“What?”

“With the burgers.”

Rhett chuckles.

“No.”

“What? Why?” Link asks, looking particularly offended.

“You’re too clumsy.” Rhett says, stopping to look him dead in the eye, as Eddie’s head pokes out of the kitchen door, to repeat it:

“Too clumsy.”

“Hey, I’m not that clumsy!” Link refutes. “Jerks!”

“There’s a few coffee mugs that would beg to differ.” Rhett says, as he collects a couple empty plates from a table.

“C’mon, man! I can’t make a dish by myself! Please!”

“You realize you’re asking me to let you cook, by telling me you can’t cook.” Rhett teases him, raising his eyebrows.

“Grilling burgers hardly qualifies as cooking, Rhett!”

“Hey, now! Careful!” Rhett warns, pointing an accusing finger.

“I’m just saying that I can grill some freaking burgers! Like, you can get them all set up and all I’ll have to do is help you flip them! I can bring my own grill too…Please?”

Rhett rolled his eyes, jokingly.

“Fine!”

*****

Rhett wakes up to his phone ringing.

“Yeah?” He manages to say, still half asleep, when he finally finds it lost somewhere in his bed.

“Hey! What time are you picking up the grill?” Link asks.

Rhett leans over to look at the old clock, on his bedside table.

“It’s 8am!” He blurts out.

“Yeah, I know. What time you coming?”

“Midday!” Rhett replies, rubbing his temples.

“What? Midday?” Link asks, outraged. “When are you expecting these people to eat?!”

“It’s a potluck, Link. There’ll be plenty of food to eat, while they wait for the burgers!”

“11 o’clock.” Link argues.

“Fine. 11:30!” Rhett says, hanging up, as Link is still protesting it should be at 11h15, at the very most.

Rhett rolls over and lets himself fall back asleep.

When his alarm rings, he rolls out of bed and heads straight to the shower. He slowly wakes up as the lukewarm water hits his body. He starts making a mental list of everything he can’t forget for today, as he washes his hair and body. As his hands make their way down, one wraps around his dick. He strokes himself absent mindedly. He’s close.

His phone’s ringing. He’s sure it’s nothing urgent. He’s so close. It’s still going. C’mon, now. It stops ringing. Good. Fuck, no, _this_ is good.

It starts ringing again.

“Goddamn it!” He mutters, as he pokes his head out of the shower, quickly drying off one of his hands to pick up the phone.

“What?”

“It’s 11h15.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Link, I’m coming!” He yells, immediately wincing, at his word choice. “I’ll be there soon! Good lord!”

If this stupid phone wasn’t so expensive, he would have flung it across the bathroom.

He’s takes a deep breath, before wrapping his hand around himself again. He’s about to finish, but great, now he’s thinking about Link. Not in that way. Just that he needs to hurry up. To go pick up the grill. At Link’s. Where he is. With his blue eyes. And his tiny waist. And his fucking lips and…

He comes, with a grunt, barely letting himself come down from it, before he’s getting himself cleaned up.

He puts his hair up in some kind of bun, before he’s putting on some jeans and an old t-shirt and throwing all his utensils, his grill and the food, in the jeep and heading to Link’s.

“You’re late.” Link says, the second Rhett’s stepping out of the car.

“No. It’s 11:28.” He replies, helping Link with the grill.

“Exactly. 13 minutes late.”

Rhett lets it slide. At this point, he has figured out there’s no point arguing with him. Plus, the stupid grill is too heavy for him to spend his energy anywhere but in picking it up. 

The ride’s quick. They get everything set up, right before people start showing up. Rhett can’t help throwing out an “I told you so!” at Link, who shrugs it off and focuses on the task at hand.

And Rhett has to hand it to him. The man _can_ grill some burgers. With the work split between them and Eddie doing the occasional beer delivery, things are looking good.

“Hey, Rhett?” Link says, at some point, eyes still focused on his grill.

“Yeah?” Rhett asks, hand landing softly on Link’s lower back, as he guides him out of the way, to grab some more toppings and start assembling the next batch of burgers.

“Wanna do something tonight?” Link says, finally lifting his gaze to meet Rhett’s.

“Uh, I don’t know, man. I’m already beat…Unless it’s like an offer that I can’t refuse.”

“Ah, The Godfather, haven’t watched that. Nah, man, I was just thinking we could grab a drink…”

“Wait, no, hold up. You haven’t watched The Godfather?” Rhett asks, perplexed.

“Yeah, Rhett. I haven’t watched anything. It’s a thing. You’ll get used to it.” Link says, patting Rhett’s arm, with practiced ease. He’s been through this a million times. “Anyways, yeah, don’t worry. Some other time.”

As they finish the last of the burgers, with the beer delivery intervals becoming shorter and shorter, Rhett keeps remembering movies and sure enough, safe for Star Wars, Link hasn’t seen any of them.

When it’s finally over, Rhett does a tour of the table, rejoining Link with his massive plate.

“I hate manning the grill. There’s no pigs on a blanket left!” Rhett complains, handing Link another beer. “You’re done already?”

“I’m not really hungry. I guess I got full just from looking at all those burgers.”

Eddie joins them and they lose track of time, as they talk. Well, as Eddie joins Rhett in his outrage over the fact that Link hasn’t watched The Godfather, Groundhog Day or Apocalypse Now, just to name a few. They talk about everything. Rhett’s surprised to find out Link’s from North Carolina, like him, that he lived one town away from his, for a good period, when they were young.

“I’m gonna live before y’all start taking about Bojangles!” Eddie jokes, in an exaggerated southern accent. He pats the guys’ shoulders, and says goodbye.

“I love Bojangles!” Eddie manages to hear Link say, as he walks off.

It’s almost 8pm. Most people have dispersed, though there are still plenty of people finishing cleaning up their stuff.

“How crazy is that, man!” Rhett says. 

“There’s plenty of people in North Carolina, Rhett.” Link says, shrugging.

“Yeah, but one town away? And we’re both end up, in the middle of nowhere?” he says, carefully lowering his voice, so none of the natives can hear him. He punches Link’s arm, and adds “C’mon, man, you gotta admit that’s one hell of a coincidence.”

“Well, yeah, I guess it is.” Link concedes. “Should we start packing up?”

Rhett nods.

He can’t help but notice how clean and organized Link is with everything, and, boy, is he thankful for it, because at this point Rhett hardly cares.

They load up the jeep and head down to the diner, so Rhett can put away all the leftover food and condiments, before dropping Link off.

As he gets out of the car, he starts patting his pockets down, trying to find his key.

“Goddamn it. It’s with Eddie. I left it at the diner and forgot to get it back from him…”

“Shit.” Link says, as they make their way back to the car. “So, how are we feeling about grabbing that drink?”

Rhett looks at him in absolute disbelief.

“Now?”

“Yeah, I mean I had a lot of fun today. Don’t really feel like turning in, at 9pm, on a Saturday. Home alone.” He adds, with a pout, big puppy dog eyes, to really amp up the pity.

He looks ridiculous. Yeah, and beautiful, too. For a second, Rhett wants to just lean in and just kiss him.

Rhett’s back’s killing me. It’s been killing him since 4pm, but much like then, he just powers through.

“Fine!” He says, trying to keep his eyes from lingering on Link’s bright surprised smile. “I really have to go drop this stuff at home first, though. Maybe we could grab something to eat there...”

“Sure, that’d be great!” 

Link helps Rhett put everything away, when they get to his place. Not without dropping an entire bowl of tomato slices on his porch.

“Yesterday’s carbonara or… ?” Rhett asks, searching through his fridge, before opening a Tupperware and quickly closing it, with a gag. “Yesterday’s carbonara, it is.”

Link laughs.

“Carbonara’s fine. I’m not even that hungry…” Link says, shrugging.

“Beer or red?” Rhett asks, from the pantry.

“Red.” Link replies.

Link sets the table, as Rhett opens the wine and plates up the pasta. They eat, well… Rhett eats, as they talk about growing up in North Carolina, too entranced in how parallel their lives growing up seem to be.

“Gotta tell you, Rhett,” Link says, dividing the last of the wine between their glasses. “I don’t really feel like going out.” 

“Between my back pain and the pasta, I don’t think I _can_ go out.” Rhett says, with a chuckle. The bottle of wine isn’t helping either.

“Well, I should help you clean up and get going, then!” Link says, getting up to place the plates in the sink.

“I mean, you could stay a while…We could watch a movie, or something.”

“The Godfather?” Link asks as a joke.

“If you want. I mean, It’s only one of the best movie of all time…”

“Fine!” Link says, like it’s some personal sacrifice to agree to watch a movie, as he makes his way to the sink, rolling up his sleeves.

“No. Uh-uh! Let’s go. I’ll take care of that tomorrow!” Rhett protests, putting his hands on Link’s shoulders and guiding him out of the kitchen.

Rhett points at the couch, and Link sits down and makes himself comfortable. Rhett fishes out a DVD from the back of his bookcase.

“DVD? What is this? 2005?” Link mocks.

“Shut up.” Rhett says, smiling and rolling his eyes, as he makes his way back to the kitchen to pour them a couple of drinks.

He dims the light. He’s pretty proud of his little home cinema set-up. As the movie begins, he settles on the couch.

“You need to pay attention! Best movies of all time warrant your full attention, buddy!” He tells Link, and it’s a joke, but Link knows he means it.

It doesn’t take 10 minute before he sees Link nodding off.

“Link! Pay attention!” He says, gently kicking Link’s leg.

“Sorry! I’m up!” Link says, and Rhett does appreciate that he is at least trying.

After a couple of times, Rhett does seem to manage to get Link to pay attention.

“Shit, this _is_ a good movie!” Link tells him, jokingly punching Rhett’s arm.

Link seems to be glued to the screen, and so is Rhett, because shit, this is a _great_ movie! When he finally turns to look at Link, to try and decode his thoughts, he sees he has let his body fall to the side. “Link. You’re gonna miss the best part!” He says, almost a whisper, because he doesn’t mean to startle him. “Link, c’mon!”

Link’s eyes open slowly, heavy with sleep.

“’m sorry. Don’t think I’m gonna be able to watch it to the end” He says, his voice low, a hint of his southern drawl coming out, as he places his hand on Rhett’s thigh, to sit up.

Rhett tries his best not to squirm away too fast, too obvious, but fuck, if that hand had inched any higher, he’d be in deep shit. The way Link’s looking at him, he’s not sure he isn’t.

Link scoots closer to him, as he downs the rest of his whiskey. Rhett’s mind is going 100mph. Link can’t seem to decide between smiling a devilish smile and biting his lower lip, when his hand makes its way to Rhett’s leg again, his fingers slightly digging into the skin of Rhett’s inner thigh. Is Link…? He isn’t misinterpreting this, is he? There’s not much to interpret here at all, is there?

Rhett clears his throat. He doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know if he can say it, really. But before he has a chance to even try to get the words out, Link’s leaning over to kiss him, and shit, that sight is enough for all the blood in his body to rush to his dick. In a matter of milliseconds, the dozens of images he’s played in his mind of Link, while he was jacking off, flash before his eyes. He can’t believe this is actually happening.

But no.

This isn’t right.

“Link…” Rhett whispers, facing away.

“Oh.” Link says, and Rhett can tell the red on his cheeks isn’t just the alcohol anymore. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.” Link repeats as he scrambles to find his phone, on the couch, to get up and leave. “I shouldn’t have assumed you would…”

“Link. It’s fine.” Rhett reassures him. Swallowing his pride, he adds: “It’s more than fine.”

His eyes lower to the front of his jeans. Link’s gaze follows his.

“ _Oh_. Then, why…?” Link asks, still feeling the embarrassment on his cheeks.

“You’ve been drinking. If anything’s to happen, it won’t be because of that.” Rhett says, his hand squeezing Link’s shoulder.

Link smiles back at him.

“I’m not that drunk.” Link says, shrugging.

“Yeah. But better safe than sorry.” Rhett says, before teasing him: “That means I won’t have to walk you home this time!” 

Link rolls his eyes, as he retrieves his jacket from the back of the desk chair and puts it on.

“Goodnight, Rhett.”

“Goodnight, Link.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not drunk right now.” Link says, with a shit-eating grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This quarantine trainwreck is over now. If you stuck with it, you're a real one! ❤️

“I’m not drunk right now.” Link says, with a shit-eating grin, when he sits on the stool.

“ _Good morning_.” Rhett says deadpan, as he hands someone a plate of blueberry pancakes. “Link, it’s 9am.”

Rhett curses his voice for faltering. It’s too early for this. He didn’t know exactly what to expect after their last encounter but it wasn’t this.

“I know.” Link says, voice giddy, his hand brushing Rhett’s wrist, only for a second. “Just wanted to let you know…”

Rhett rolls his eyes, and shakes his head.

“So, dinner tonight?” Link asks, biting his lip and lifting his hand to show Rhett he’s crossing his fingers.

“Sure.” Rhett replies, heart racing, and, try as he may, he can’t keep himself from smirking. “My place?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there at 6:30.” Link says, before he’s rushing out the door, clearly late for work.

_So fucking eager._

Rhett tries to focus. It’s too early to be stressing out about this, but he can’t help himself. Sure, he’s worried about the food and making sure the place is clean. He’s worried about what he’ll wear. But most of all he’s worried about Link. The whole point of this is that he is sober today and he still wants this, wants _him_.

The thing is Rhett is a little too old for this, the whole “hot guy who’s curious and then has an existential crisis because he came having sex with a man” deal. And, yeah, frankly, he’s a little too emotionally invested at this point. Not to mention that he has his own issues to deal with. He’s far from having everything figured out.

What if this whole thing is a mistake? How could it not be? _Shit_.

He needs to bring in the big guns.

Rhett storms the kitchen and finds Eddie finishing up loading the dishwasher.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay…What’s up?”

“Something happened last night.” Rhett says.

“What?” Eddie asks, leaning against the counter, with a serious look on his face.

“I… hm, Link tried to kiss me.” Rhett finally says, looking at the floor, too afraid to look at Eddie.

“ _Oh_.”

“Yeah.”

“And you weren’t into it or…?” Eddie says, trying to sound serious, but Rhett can see the smirk creeping up on his face.

“I was.” Rhett replies. “But he was drunk, and it came out of nowhere…”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it came out of nowhere…” Eddie says, as he closes the dishwasher. “You guys have been doing that weird flirting thing for… Never mind. Go on.”

“I told him that nothing was going to happen with him drunk, because, y’know, that’s just trouble for the both of us.”

“Yeah. So what? Are things awkward now?”

“Uh, no... He showed up here, in the morning, and he basically let me know he was not drunk today.” Rhett says, unable to hide a smile.

“Oh!”

“…and we’re having dinner tonight.”

“My man!” Eddie yells, high-fiving Rhett, “So what’s the problem?”

“I’m just second guessing everything. I’m worried this is a bad idea…”

“Why? Don’t complicate things! If it works out, great! If it doesn’t, at least you fuck someone. Lord knows it’s about time!” Eddie teases.

*****

Rhett is finishing up the fajitas when the doorbell rings. He wrestles his way out of the apron, before opening the door.

“Hey.” Link says, with a smile so bright, Rhett’s left speechless for a second.

“Hey, man! Come in!” He says, pulling Link in, for a quick hug.

Rhett eyes look him up and down, as he takes his jacket off. He’s wearing some jeans that are skin tight and a nice blue buttoned-down that makes his eyes really pop. Shit, Rhett’s ready to skip dinner all together.

He forces himself to focus.

“Beer?” He asks Link, as he makes his way to the fridge and grabs a bottle.

“Thanks!” Link says, as he takes it from Rhett, fingers brushing against his, “What are you making?”

“Fajitas.” Rhett replies. “You said you like Mexican, right?”

“Yeah!” Link says, with a smile, sitting down on a dining chair. “Need some help?”

“Nah, I’m done!” Rhett says, covering the pot and making his way to the table, to sit down across from him.

Link’s looking at him dead in the eye. He’s nervous. Rhett can tell. Hell, he’s pretty nervous too.

“You wanna eat?” Rhett asks him. “It’s still pretty early but…”

“Sure. You’ll have plenty to keep us busy this evening.” He says, with a cackle, and Rhett can’t help but laugh too, even though he feels his cheeks turning red.

The nerves dissipate, as their conversation progresses. That has always felt effortless, between them, almost like they’ve known each other their whole lives.

“The food’s great!” Link says.

Rhett smiles, as he finishes his beer.

“Another one?”

“I’m good. Wouldn’t want you thinking I’m drunk again…” Link says, with a smirk.

“You’re so stupid.” Rhett jokes, grabbing two beers from the fridge and hanging Link’s his.

“Thanks.” Link says, as he takes it, taking a swig.

Rhett sits back down and grabs a tortilla chip.

“So…are you a top or a bottom?” Link asks it, matter-of-factly.

Rhett chokes.

“What?” Rhett asks Link, when he finally manages to stop coughing.

“I just want to know what I’m in for.” Link replies, with a laugh, his blue eyes staring him down.

He’s loving this, isn’t he? Rhett feels the heat rise to his cheeks.

“It’s a valid question, I think…” Link insists.

“I don’t have an answer…” Rhett says, almost a whisper.

“What?”

“It’s just… it depends.” Rhett says, clearing his throat.

“Can you elaborate on that?” Link asks, his eyes still trained on him.

Link’s teasing him, that’s very clear. But he also does seem genuinely interested, and, well, Rhett figures he’s going to find out soon enough, anyways.

Rhett downs the rest of his beer.

“Depends on the partner. I’m open to whatever feels right. I’ve already told you I’m not into labels.” He says, with a chuckle.

“Oh, okay. But, I mean, you must have a preference, no?”

Of course he has a preference. He could tell Link, in detail, all the ways in which he has imagined himself fucking him… Rhett’s big body over Link’s, fucking him hard into the mattress; Rhett taking Link from behind, bent over the first flat surface he finds; Rhett sitting back, hands gripping Link’s hips, as he enjoys the view of Link rides him.

Rhett takes a deep breath, trying to push the images away.

All things considered, tonight was about Link and whatever he wanted. Plus, there was that small issue. Well, that _big_ issue.

“Well, I usually top.” Rhett finally says. “But…”

“I’m getting fucked in the ass tonight. Damn.” Link says, with a cackle.

Rhett can’t help the noise that escapes him.

“I ain’t got many first times left, so I guess it’s go big or go home, right?” Link says, and Rhett can swear his cheeks have gone a little redder too.

“I like doing both.” Rhett says, diplomatically, trying to ignore the way his jeans have suddenly started feeling tighter. The boy really left his decorum home, tonight. 

Link laughs.

The sit in silence for what feels like forever.

“Hey.” Link finally says, voice going soft and shaky. “Kiss me. _Please_.”

Rhett knows Link’s nervous. So is he.

He gets up, offering Link his hand.

Link lets himself be pulled up to his feet, closing the space between them.

Rhett towers over him, his big hands on Link’s neck, turn his head so he’s facing him just right and then he just kisses him.

Short and sweet. Almost chaste.

Rhett can almost bet there won’t be a lot of chastity going around this evening, so he basks in it a little, lets his forehead rest against Link’s for a second, before he’s kissing him again.

Link’s hands come up to Rhett’s neck too, as a little moan escapes him. The kiss deepens, Link’s body pressed flush against Rhett’s, his hard dick pressed against the inside of Rhett’s thigh.

Rhett pulls away breathless.

“You got a bedroom, darling?” Link asks, his southern drawl coming out.

Rhett laughs, finding Link’s hand and guiding him down the hallway.

When they make it through the door, Link’s pulling Rhett against him, getting on his tippy-toes to kiss him, his hands making their way under the hem of Rhett’s t-shirt.

Rhett lets out the slightest whimper, as Link’s cold hands lay flat on his chest.

“Fuck, Link….” He says.

Link pulls him back in for a kiss, before he’s pushing him towards the bed. 

Rhett sits at the foot of the bed, his hands trying to make quick work of the buttons on Link’s shirt, before Link just yanks it over his head.

Rhett presses kisses against Link’s collarbones, hands running up and down the sides of his torso.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Link moans, fingers brushing through Rhett’s hair, before he’s straddling Rhett’s hips. When Link grinds against Rhett, he can’t help the way he grips Link’s hips, hard enough to leave bruises.

“Been thinking about this for so long” Link says, as he kisses Rhett again.

Rhett wonders what his beard feels like against Link’s face, when all Link’s ever known is the feel of kissing a woman.

Link grunts as he grinds down against him, again.

“Ever since we first met, I felt some type of way, couldn’t figure it out. Thought it was about her. Thought I was jealous. But when I thought of you fucking her, it wasn’t anger that I was feeling.”

Rhett moans, as he drags his teeth down Link’s neck.

“That night, though. That was the game changer. Seeing that guy, in your house… realizing what that meant… I could barely make it to the car… I got out of your drive way and stopped at the side of the road right after the turn… I came so fast, shit.”

“God, Link…” Rhett breathes out.

“Can’t tell you how many times I’ve come, saying your name…” He says, his nails raking up and down Rhett’s chest.

“Me too.”

Rhett’s barely coherent at this point. He’s so hard it hurts.

“Fuck me, Rhett.” Link whispers in his ear, and he swears he could come just from hearing Link say that.

“Settle down”, Rhett teases dragging his teeth against the skin of Link’s neck again. “We got plenty of time. Wanna make this real good for you.”

“Rhett…Please. I need it.” Link begs, looking him dead in the eye, before he’s pulling at Rhett’s t-shirt and undoing the fly of his jeans.

_Eager._

Rhett tries to keep up, but Link’s jeans might as well be painted on.

“Goddamn it. Give me a hand with these!” Rhett says flustered, the red of his cheeks traveling down to his chest.

Link giggles, as he squirms off of Rhett’s lap. It takes a minute for him to get rid of his pants, makes a show of it too, when the worst of it is over.

Rhett bites his lip. He can’t do anything but feel himself through his boxer briefs. Fuck, this is going to be quick. 

When Link makes his way back onto his lap, Rhett flips them over, on the mattress. Link looks tiny under him. Beautiful, as he laughs, his hands holding on to Rhett’s neck.

As Rhett makes his way down his body, peppering it with small kisses, he can’t help but think that, as it turns out, he was right: One of his hands did pretty cover the span of Link’s waist.

He presses kisses down Link’s happy trail, stopping for a second, and looking up at Link, as his fingers play with the elastic of his underwear. 

“Yeah.” Is all Link manages to say, before he throws his head back in anticipation.

“Grab the lube.” Rhett tells him, pointing at his bedside table. Link fishes the bottle out of the drawer and throws it down to Rhett.

“Can’t wait for you to fuck me!” Link says, hands rubbing up and down his own torso.

Rhett taps his thigh, and Link lifts his ass, so Rhett can pull his underwear off. Link’s hard cock springs up, and _shit_ , he’s big.

But Rhett’s never be known to say no to a challenge, so he gives him a couple of exploring strokes before he kisses the tip and takes Link in his mouth.

Rhett bobs his head up and down, to a litany of “fucks”, “oh my gods” and “pleases”. When he looks up at Link, he can barely see the blue of his eyes around his dilated pupils.

Rhett pulls off with a pop, kissing the inside of Link’s leg, before he’s coats his fingers with lube.

There’s plenty of things he doesn’t know about Link yet. But he knows he likes it when things go his way. He rubs his finger around his rim, before he lets it dip in. Slowly. Carefully.

“Fuck, Rhettt. So good, _baby…_ ”

Rhett feels his cock twitch at the pet name, takes a second to squeeze himself, before taking Link back in his mouth, and slowly adding a second finger.

The noise Link makes, when Rhett’s nose brushes against his pubes, cock all the way down his throat and fingers pumping in and out of him, has his head spinning.

“Rhett, I’m gonna…”

Rhett pulls all the way off, despite Link’s protests. He strokes him slowly, contemplating stopping all together. He can’t have Link coming all over his hand, now.

“I’m not gonna fuck you tonight.” He finally says.

“What?” Link asks flabbergasted, slapping Rhett’s hand away from his dick. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why?”

Shit, here we go. Rhett sighs.

“I’m…big.” Rhett says, feeling his cheeks turn bright red again.

“Okay? So am I.” Link dismisses it, grabbing at his own swollen cock.

Rhett sighs again.

“I’m bigger…I mean, maybe not longer, but… thicker.”

“Show me.” Link says, biting his lip.

Rhett pulls his underwear down, unceremoniously. Link’s mouth falls open, when Rhett’s dick springs free.

“Wow.” Link says, unable to avoid licking his lips.

Rhett groans something in response that Link doesn’t quite get.

“You said you’re a top, right?” Link asks.

“Link…”

“I’m just saying, you’ve done this a bunch of times, it _is_ possible…” Link argues.

“Oh it is very possible.” Rhett says, with a chuckle. “But you’ve never done this before, right?”

Link nods.

“It’s your first time. I don’t want to hurt you…”

“You won’t. We can be careful. You can do gentle, can’t you?” Link asks, closing the space between them to kiss and lick at Rhett’s neck.

Against his better judgment, Rhett agrees. Mostly, because he wants to give Link what he wants. But also, because the idea of being the first guy to fuck Link like that makes him weak in the knees.

Rhett takes Link back in his mouth, his fingers finding their way back to his asshole. Link whimpers as he presses both fingers in at the same time. Fuck, he’s tight around them. There’s no way, this is gonna happen.

“Fuck, Rhett. I’m ready. Do it!”

Rhett pulls his fingers out, grabbing the condom Link throws him and rolling it onto his cock. 

He coats himself with lube. They’re going to need all the help they can get.

Link’s hair is pasted to his forehead, from the sweat, and all Rhett can think is that he hasn’t seen nothing yet.

“Fuck me, Rhett. I’ve been thinking about this moment for so long. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve come, with my fingers buried in my ass, pretending it was you.”

“ _Fuck_ , baby.” Rhett says, head spinning as he lines himself up and starts slowly pushing.

“Shit.” Link winces, at the stretch, as Rhett tries to guide the head of his cock inside of him. “Just wait a second.”

Rhett freezes in place.

“Are you okay?” He asks, trying his best to not focus on the barely-there feeling of Link’s heat around him.

“Yeah. Go on.” Link says.

Rhett inches forward again, as slowly as he can, eyes shut, trying his best not to come. When he opens his eyes he sees the look on Link’s face, his eyebrows knotted together, and not in a good way. 

He moves to wrap his hand around Link’s dick, hoping it’ll help, and finds he’s gone soft.

“Okay, this is ridiculous. You’re in too much pain. This is stupid. We’re not gonna do this!” Rhett says, pulling off, and sitting back on his heels.

“No, Rhett! I can take it! Please.” Link protests, pouting and grabbing his neck.

“No. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to do this. But not today.” Rhett says, before he kisses Link, feeling him relax underneath him. “You’re gonna fuck _me_ instead.”

Link’s protests don’t last long, when Rhett throws him another condom and the bottle of lube.

“ _Fuck_. You ready?” Link asks the pout giving way to something else.

Rhett feels his dick twitch.

He pushes Rhett down, on his back, and settles between his long legs. He wraps his hand around the big cock and strokes Rhett agonizingly slow.

“Fuck, Link. Don’t be a dick.” Rhett spits, thrusting up into Link’s hand. “I’m not gonna last much longer, so you better get a move on, baby.”

Link nods, as he coats his fingers with the lube, and pushes his forefinger into Rhett’s hole. He feels the tightness around it, and he can’t wait to get his cock inside him.

“Give me another one. I can take it.” Rhett says, moaning as Link curls his finger inside of him.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Rhett gets lost in the feeling of Link’s finger thrusting in and out of him. He brings his own hand to his cock, as he tells Link he’s ready.

Link lines himself up and hesitates for a second.

“Go ahead, baby.” Rhett says, hand coming up to squeeze Link’s arm, encouraging him.

Link nods.

And suddenly he’s thrusting all the way in. It knocks the air out of Rhett and when he looks up at Link, he can see the jackass knows exactly what he’s doing.

Rhett moans so loud, he’d be embarrassed, but at this point he can’t bring himself to care.

“Are you okay?” Link asks him, with a stupid grin on his face, but Rhett knows there’s genuine concern there.

“Yeah. We’re gonna need to make a slight adjustment though.”

“What?”

Before Link knows it, Rhett’s straddling him, sinking back onto his dick. Rhett’s sure this looks ridiculous, his body so much bigger than Link’s, riding him, like this, but his back hurts, so they’ll have to make do.

Link’s head is thrown back, he’s breathless, unable to say anything at all, but it doesn’t seem like he minds.

Rhett rides him, pulling almost completely off his cock, before sinking back again. For a moment, all that can be heard in the room is their breathing, Link’s grunts and Rhett’s little moans.

“So beautiful…” Link says, his hands grabbing at Rhett’s hips again, thrusting up as much as he can under the weight of Rhett’s body.

“Fuck, Link. I’m gonna…” He says before he comes all over Link’s stomach, body tensing up, squeezing around Link cock, and soon enough Link’s coming too.

He rides Link’s cock until he can’t form words. When he feels Link’s dick soften inside of him, he lifts himself off of it and crashes on the bed next to him.

“So, how was it?” He asks Link, pressing a kiss on his neck.

“I don’t know why I ever wanted to _you_ to fuck me. This was amazing.” Link says, still breathless.

“Hold on, now. This is just an adjustment period.” Rhett says, his serious expression dropping as he adds “I am the top after all.”

Link laughs a roaring laugh, and Rhett would give anything to stay life this forever.


End file.
